Fishing Towns to be adversely impacted by Ocean Acidification

by Felix Balthasar, Jul 30, 2014

Rise in levels of carbon dioxide is responsible for increasing temperatures all over the world. However, researchers have claimed that marine life will also get adversely affected because of rising levels of carbon dioxide.

Higher levels of carbon dioxide in atmosphere are leading much of it to enter the ocean, which in turn is making the oceans acidic. Carbon dioxide turns into carbonic acid after it enters the ocean and decreases the oceanic pH.

A study from federal agencies has warned coastal communities in Alaska to start making efforts to deal with ocean acidification. Shellfish are facing trouble in forming shells because alterations in the chemistry of the ocean make it difficult for them to do so. Researchers have named the areas that are more likely to face the brunt of ocean acidification. A report on ocean acidification has been published in journal Progress in Oceanography.

Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka and the Lake and Peninsula Borough have been included in the list because of being fishing towns, said co-author Sarah Cooley, who wrote the report while at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and is now Scientific Outreach Manager of the Ocean Conservancy.

"And what we find is that dependence on fisheries is really the key link between ocean chemistry conditions and human communities. Right now in Alaska, we have a very heavy dependence on specific harvests", said Cooley.

Squids are among other species that face threats from ocean acidification. Squids have high metabolism rate and ocean acidification makes their survival difficult by depriving them of their exhaling ability.